Cameras have long been provided with grips in the form of tactile configurations for securely holding the camera during transport and use. Such grips routinely comprise raised bumps or indentations on the camera body that assist in the camera being grasped by a user. However, such tactile configurations merely provide a user with a particular and consistent way to hold the camera.
More recently, camera grips have further incorporated straps that pass about the back of a users hand, across the area where the user holds the camera, that help hold the camera with less gripping effort. Since the strap merely encompasses the back of the user's hand as it holds the camera, by the tactile configuration adapted for gripping the camera, it does not offer any options in the way the camera is held.
Additionally, known camera grips have also been designed to attach to a camera, often using the universal threaded opening found on the bottom of most cameras. These attachable grips are generally J-shaped, providing a grip that is fixed adjacent to the side of the camera, or T-shaped, where the camera rests atop the grip.
All of the known grips, however, are limited in the configurations allowing the user to position the camera relative to the grip. For example, the J-shaped grips known are generally just a vertical grip member that extends from a horizontal member which is attached to the bottom of the camera. Thus, the J-shaped grips do not provide any way to adjust the position of the camera relative to the grip. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,081,478 describes a T-shaped grip that has a mounting block on which the camera rests with the grip extending downwardly therefrom. Although the grip can be folded, the user must engage the grip from below the camera without varying the position of the camera relative to the grip other than in a single dimension.
Therefore, there is a deficiency in the camera grip art which is addressed by the present invention.